Help the Ngobe protect their rainforest

The rainforest of the indigenous tribe Ngobe is a natural paradise for reptiles and amphibians, such as the endangered Tabasara Rain Frog. Now, part of it could be drowned due to the hydroelectric dam project Barro Blanco. Please demand the protection of the Tabasara rainforest.

The rainforest of the indigenous people Ngobe in Panama shelters an extraordinary diversity of species. Frequent rainfalls in the Tabasara mountains – located in the province of Chiriqui – provide enough humidity to turn this area into a paradise for amphibians and reptiles, many of them being highly endangered species which are only found in this particular region.

One of these species is the blue Tabasara Rain Frog, as Oscar Sogandares, Chiriqui Natural tells us. This beautiful creature lives exclusively on the riverbank which could soon be drowned as part of the planned artificial lake.

Oppression of indigenous protests

Panama's government has officially acknowledged the land to be indigenous territory. However, the Ngobe never gave their consent to the dam project. Their protests were brutally oppressed in February. At least two were killed, more than 100 injured, arrested and humiliated.

The construction costs of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric power station are estimated an equivalent of 100 million euros. Almost 20 million have been granted by three public development banks: the German DEG, the Dutch FMO and the Central American BCIE.

The indigenous people as well as conservationists are asking these banks not to allocate funds for this dam project in the heart of the rainforest.

Please write to the bank and demand the protection of this natural paradise and of the Tabasara Rain Frog.

News and updates

May 24, 2012

Statement on the Barro Blanco dam project in the rainforest of Panama

The response of the German Investment and Development Company (DEG) to our “Dam action alert: Please help the Ngobe protect their rainforest” campaign was disappointing. The reply relies on superficial data that does not reflect the realities of the Tabasará region. We will continue to call on the DEG to stop the financing of the dam immediately.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the German Investment and Development Company (DEG),

Thank you for your reply pertaining to the financing of the Barro Blanco dam project in Panama, which was identical to the reply we received from you on March 23 – before we started our protest.

The total financing that the DEG and two other development banks granted for Barro Blanco amounts to US $25 million (the equivalent of nearly €20 million), and not US $25 as indicated in the letter.

The information provided by DEG is not verifiable. The DEG does NOT state which “international standards” it is applying. The cited “environmental impact study and other studies” have NOT been published. Their contents and results are therefore NOT known, nor are the names of the participating experts and companies.

The sole publication was a completely superficial “summary of social and environmental impacts of the project”. The name of the “internationally experienced environmental and social expert” responsible for the summary remains a mystery. The Ngobe indigenous people reject the study as completely inadequate and unacceptable.

The Senckenberg Institute in Frankfurt, Germany, has been performing field research in the Tabasará Mountains for years. Its scientists have documented 33 species of amphibians there that are classified as “endangered” or “critically endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Some of the species are endemic, i.e. they occur only in the area that includes the Tabasará river valley. The researchers have published the results of their studies 1.).

It is also not very helpful for the affected indigenous population if the “environmental and social impacts of the project are limited to the local area”, as the DEG puts it. The fact is that the people have been using the river and its valley for a long time. The flooding of the valley would thus have a direct impact on the lives of the Ngobe.

It has been agreed within the framework of a UN-led dialog that new and appropriate technical studies must be carried out for the project. In the meantime, construction work must be halted. Nevertheless, the operating company has started construction work in the field, violating the agreements. The residents protested against it, occupying the building site on May 19.

Rainforest Rescue supports the demands of environmentalists and the indigenous peoples in Panama. They reject the dam project, calling for the immediate cessation of construction and revocation of the granted licenses. We call on the DEG and other development banks to immediately stop funding the Barro Blanco Dam.

Letter

the German DEG, alongside the Dutch FMO and the Central American BCIE, is financing plans for a hydroelectric power station called Barro Blanco in Panama, having granted almost 20 million euros.

In order to produce 29 megawatt, a 55 metres tall dam is planned to be built in the course of the Tabasara river. This would lead to the banking-up of the river for miles and would cause the flooding of 1.6 square miles of rainforest and cultivated land.

The inhabitants and especially the Ngobe natives have been fighting against a hydroelectric power station on their land for decades. Time and again, the construction of Barro Blanco could not be put into effect due to the resistance of the people.

But now the military police is using brute force to oppress the protests of the people. At least two were killed, numerous are missing, dozens of people were injured and arrested - this is the sad summary of a police operation this February.

The DEG is referring to environmental and social studies, signed contracts and the laws of this Central American state. However, violence and shots fired at indigenous people who are struggling for survival are not compatible with basic and human rights.

The cited studies are highly superficial and loaded with imprecision and mistakes. For example, the environmental review states that the endangered animals are able to migrate to other areas. However, the extremely endangered blue Tabasara Rain Frog is not even mentioned in the study. In addition, even more contracts have already been signed for the construction of further hydroelectric power stations downstream.

The problems mentioned above are well documented and summarized in the television report "Panama: village of the damned":
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2012/03/20123208464402131.html

Being involved with Barro Blanco, the DEG is also jeopardizing the previous success of development cooperation with the Ngobe.

Therefore, the bank should withdraw its support for the Barro Blanco hydroelectric power station project immediately and should refrain from granting further financial support.

Yours faithfully,

Completed campaign

41,116 supporters

Start of campaign:

May 9, 2012

End of campaign:

May 22, 2014

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